Man's 'Bionic Penis' Is Not So Rare After All

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A man in the United Kingdom recently made headlines when he had
surgery to get a so-called "bionic penis." But experts say the
man actually received a penile implant — a relatively common
device typically used to treat men with erectile dysfunction.

The man, a 43-year-old from Edinburgh named Mohammed Abad, was
hit by a car when he was 6 years old, and lost his penis and one
testicle as a result of the accident,
according to the Daily Mail. Over the last three years, Abad
has undergone a number of operations to place a replacement penis
on his body, which can become erect with a push of a button.

The device consists of two tubes that are connected to a
"reservoir" of fluid, as well as a pump. When a man with this
device presses the button, the pump pushes the fluid (in this
case, water) from the reservoir into the tubes, inflating them
and giving the appearance of an erection. In Abad's case, the
tubes were covered with a graft of skin taken from the arm, the
Daily Mail said.

Although Abad's device has been dubbed "bionic," Dr. Elizabeth
Kavaler, a urologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City,
said, "It's not a 'bionic penis'; it's a penile implant. We do
this all the time."

Indeed, a 2015
study of more than 1.7 million men with erectile dysfunction
who used Medicare between 2001 and 2010 found that about 53,000
of them had undergone surgery for a penile implant.

Penile implants are used for men with
erectile dysfunction, which can include men who have had
surgery to remove their prostate after prostate cancer, and men
who have experienced trauma to their pelvis and penis, Kavaler
said.

The implant does not help men reach orgasm or ejaculate, and
cannot change a man's ability to feel sexual sensations if this
has been lost, Kavaler said. The device only helps with
erections, which can allow for penetration during sex, she said.

Abad said his "ultimate goal" is to have kids, "which would be a
miracle itself,"
The Sun reported.

However, Kavaler said that, because the device doesn't help with
ejaculation, it can't help men who are not able to ejaculate to
get a woman pregnant. And even men who can ejaculate may not have
enough viable sperm to cause pregnancy during intercourse.

But if a man has even a few viable sperm, he may be able to have
children through
in vitro fertilization, Kavaler said.